I just found out the most ridiculous thing.
I can't play on Varsity next year.
I'll be in my 5th year of playing this sport. I'll be a senior who has played on this same team for 4 straight years.
I'm going on vacation to WDW with my family and a friend. During the second week of preseason. Which is during my summer vacation as approved by the school (as in, it's official school vacation time).
But my coach's new rules state that if I miss 3 or more practices, I can't play varsity. If I miss 6 or more, I'll be asked to leave the team. As it is, I'm missing 3 practices and 2 scrimmages. If I miss one more day, I get kicked off the team.
Now, I don't want to sound snotty, but I'm one of the better players on my team. Yes, we suck horribly, but I'm one of the best of the worst. And as it is, without me, she can't field a varsity squad. She'll have to pull players out of positions that they've been playing for most of their time in the sport just to find somebody to hit outside for Varsity.
I'm also ineligible to receive my Varsity letter for Volleyball (even though next year should have been my 3rd year on Varsity). And I will not be eligible to be nominated for team captain.
We were also told that the only exception for missing practice is to get help with schoolwork or if somebody in your family drops dead. Got pneumonia? Come to practice. Mono? Practice. You're hacking up blood? Practice. Several girls on our team have braces. That means almost monthly trips to the ortho's office. Got appointments already made? Cancel and reschedule them. What they don't get is that there aren't enough doctors around here to go around. Some of these appointments are made a year in advance to ensure that there would be a spot for them. You don't just cancel these appointments.
I believe our new assistant coach put it like this: "Volleyball should be come the most important thing except for schoolwork. Forget your family, your friends. Just be dedicated to Volleyball. If you have something else you might have to do, choose what's more important- this team or whatever else it is."
It's so ridiculous. Sorry. I just had to vent.
I'm still playing next year, I'll just be on JV. But I'll be with a few of my friends who are playing next year for the first time, so it'll be ok.